Hw leanna zao xnwrao (Stone of the Brave)
by The master of the game
Summary: A girl from Earth finds herself in Equestria after getting lost in a forest and getting attacked by a strange creature, and soon, Equestria is threatened by a human country south. It is up to the Earth girl and her friends to save Equestria. Contains a fictitious language created by me.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

H"wnxna z'wqpkija [The Tree of Fall]

...

I walked down the poorly lit street, casting quick glances behind me as I do so. I put a hand to my small skull-shaped key around my neck. I quickened my pace as I heard someone behind me. I started to pray my dead mother for her protection. I saw my goal ahead, only a few feet away. I was running. I opened the door and quickly got inside.

I put my back against the door, taking my breath. I walked up the stairs to my dad's apartment. I opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind. I immediately went to the bathroom. I took a quick glance at myself, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I went to my room, and I sat down on my bed. I took a pad of paper and a pencil, and I began to draw. I drew for about an hour before my dad finally arrived.

"Hey, Jenny. I'm home."

"Hey, Dad!"

My name is Jennifer Stone, but I prefer to be called Jenny. I am eighteen years old. My life was what you'd call normal, that is, until I turned six. On my birthday twelve years ago, my mother died in a car accident. At least, that's what the police report said, but my dad and I both know she has been killed.

Ever since that day, I've been a problematic child, getting in a lot of trouble. I've been a thief once. I also had problems at school, my grades being lower than what I could get. My dad tried to find me help, but it never worked.

Apart from that, my life was normal. I was a six feet two inches tall girl with curly hair that fell to my kidneys. Only thing weird about my hair was the color. My hair was naturally deep sapphire blue, which is NOT a natural hair color. I had steel-blue eyes and fair skin. I usually wore a dark grey jacket open on a black t-shirt with dark blue denim jeans and dark grey sneakers.

I was a strange girl. I could be extremely girly at times, and then I could be tomboyish. I was sometimes really shy, but I could still be social. I liked the night, the stars and the moon, as well as the TV show for little girls called My Little Pony. I was also a down-to-earth girl. I also liked to draw.

"Jenny, go to bed now."

"Yes, Dad. Good night."

The next morning, I got up and prepared myself for my day. We were in fall, and I had planned to go trekking in the forest in the park of the city. I walked out of my room and went to the kitchen. On the counter, I found a note from my dad. I read it out loud.

"'I'll be out for the day. Love, Dad.' At least you remembered to leave me a note."

I opened the fridge and made myself breakfast. I ate, and when I was done, I finished preparing myself, brushing my teeth and combing my long hair. I kept my hair long because of my mom. She had beautiful long flowing hair that fell to her heels, and my dad said I had the same kind of hair.

I went in my room and took my backpack. I grabbed my pad of paper, pencils, coloring pencils, a blanket, a plush moon with two stars on each side given to me by my mom when I was five, a small knife given to me by my dad when I was thirteen, my PlayStation Vita, my ear buds and my charger. Everywhere I went I brought my charger with me, and I don't know why myself. I put them in my backpack, and I went to the kitchen with my backpack.

I grabbed some dried fruits, some nuts, some beef jerky, and I filled my reusable bottles able to hold about two times 593 millilitres with water. Once I was satisfied with my pack, I grabbed my keys and I left the apartment. I walked slowly to the park, breathing the fresh air of fall.

The city I lived in was not one of the safest place to be, especially at night. There were a lot of rapists and murderers living there, but it was still a pretty town. I reached the park and I began to walk on the path towards the forest. I already was able to see the tree line, and I knew I was almost there.

After a few minutes, I was finally in the forest. I then stepped off the main path and took one of the secondary path less traveled by trekkers. Then, I heard something move in the undergrowth.

"Is anyone here?" I asked out loud.

There was no more sound, and I began to panic as there should've been at least birds chirping. Then, I heard a growl from the undergrowth. I stepped closer to the undergrowth.

"Are you okay?"

Something then jumped out of the undergrowth and began to run down the path. I followed whatever it was down the path. At some point, it turned on an even less traveled path, one going deeper in the forest. I kept following the thing that jumped out and ran away.

After several long minutes, I reached a clearing, and I was lost. Despite the coolness of the air, I folded my jacket's sleeves up, exposing my forearms. I walked to the middle of the clearing. Then, the thing growled again, and it jumped on me from behind. I fought against it, and it managed to slash my forearms.

I then managed to kick whatever it was off me, and I ran away in the undergrowth. I kept running for several minutes before I stopped. I looked around, and I realised that the trees and the undergrowth seemed different from the forest in the park. And I seemed to be close to the tree line, which made no sense at all. I looked at my forearm, and the pain kicked in.

I gritted my teeth not to scream, and I made my way out of the forest. As I got out of the undergrowth, I tripped and fell on someone. I got out as quickly as I could with my two forearms bleeding like hell. I turned around and faced who I fell on, and my jaw dropped.

"S-sorry." I said, still stunned by who I fell on.

"It's okay. And I am sure I..."

Just then, I felt a powerful pain in both forearms, which made me cringe.

"Oh, you're hurt! Come with me, I'll take care of you."

Despite the little voice in my head screaming that nothing that was happening was true, I followed the yellow Pegasus I fell on. We reached her cottage quickly, and I followed her inside.

"Sit down on the couch while I go get my first aid kit."

I sat down on the couch, trying not to bleed on anything. Yet again, the little voice in my head screamed that it didn't matter because it wasn't real, but it was soon drowned by the louder scream of pain that came from my bleeding forearms. The yellow Pegasus came back with a first aid kit and she began tending to my wounds. I then blacked out due to the pain.

When I finally woke up, the sun was setting. I was still on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage, but my backpack was not on my back and my forearms were bandaged. I looked around and saw my backpack. I took it and opened it. Everything was still in it. I took out some dried fruits and my bottle of water and I ate. I didn't realised how much I was hungry as the few dried fruits I took out of the plastic bag I took from home. I then took my Vita and my ear buds to listen to some music. But before I could, Fluttershy came back.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Fluttershy."

"How do you know my name?"

"Long story. Where can I sleep tonight? I don't need that much, maybe a pillow and a soft surface, and even then, I can sleep on a bunch of wooden planks, so..."

"Well, um... You can sleep here, if that's okay with you."

I nodded. The small voice was now using speakers to make itself louder and it kept screaming that nothing I saw was true.

"When will you take to Twilight about me?"

"Tomorrow. But now, I think you should sleep."

"Great idea. Good night."

I took out my blanket and I placed myself on the ground. Fluttershy had already brought a few pillows, so I took one and I put it where my head would be while I would sleep. I took out my plush, I opened my Vita, put my ear buds in my ears, and put some music. I set my head on the pillow, and I held my little moon plush close to my heart as I slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_"Mommy!" I said as I saw my mom._

_I tried to run to her, but with each step I took, she seemed to be only farther from me. I yelled at her._

_"Mommy! Wait for me!"_

_I began to cry, still running after my mom. Tears soon blurred my vision._

_"It's okay, sweetie. Mommy will be okay." My mom said in her soft and gentle voice similar to the voice of an angel._

_"MOMMY!" I yelled louder, a hand reaching for my mother._

_"No sweetie. I must go now. Be a good girl." My mom said as she slowly faded away._

_"MOMMY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs._

_I sped up, trying to reach my mother. I was panting heavily._

* * *

I woke up shivering. I was covered with sweat, and I could feel my heart pumping in my chest. I looked around. I saw that I was no longer in Fluttershy's cottage, but outside of it. It was still night, and a gloomy fog was rolling in. I was naked, except for my necklace. I sat down, putting my hair in front of me to cover my breasts.

I got up and knocked on the door loud enough to wake the dead. In my head, the little voice was yelling at the top of its lung that nothing was real, and I was beginning to believe it. Placing my hands over my private areas, I waited for Fluttershy to open the door.

I didn't have to wait too long. Fluttershy opened the door, and I ran in, quickly picking my clothes up off floor and putting them back on before I could blush out of embarrassment. Once I was dressed, I looked at Fluttershy.

"Look. I don't know what happened, nor why I woke up outside naked." I said, tears beginning to roll on my cheeks.

Fluttershy stayed silent. I picked my Vita up off the floor and I sat down on the couch. I opened my Vita and I put my ear buds in my ears. I put on some music to try to calm me down, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was sprawled out on the couch. The sun was shining in my closed eyes, and I could hear two sets of different clop on the wooden floor. I closed my Vita and I got up. I picked up my blanket and my plush and I put them back in my backpack. Then, I heard clop coming in the living room.

"I see you are awake. Fluttershy was worried about you, so when the sun started rising in the sky, she came to see me. I am Twilight Sparkle, and you are?"

My first reaction was to bow. I got on my knees, and I waited for her to say it was okay to get up.

"I hate that, so please, stop."

I nodded and slowly got up. I looked at the purple Alicorn in front of me.

"Right. My name. I'm Jennifer Stone, but I prefer to be called Jenny."

"Nice to meet you, Jenny."

I nodded, the little voice in my head giving up and banging its head on a wall.

"So?" I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Oh, sorry. Still not used to seeing a female human here."

"Wait... FEMALE human?!" I asked.

"Yes. You're the second human to appear here in Equestria, but the first female human. The other is a male."

I shook my head, not believing what I heard. 'I told you so. Ah, shut up. Okay, suit yourself.' I thought and heard the little voice say. Then, I felt a tingling sensation in my forearms. I reached to scratch myself, only to feel my hands held by Twilight's magic.

"Don't scratch." She said.

Slowly, she folded my jacket's sleeves up, and I saw that I no longer had bandages. In fact, my wounds were already simple scars.

"WHAT THE?!"

"I scanned you with my magic when I got here. Apparently, whatever slashed your forearms passed some sort of disease on to you. And I think I know what it will cause." Twilight said as Fluttershy walked in. "You see, last night, there was a wolf spotted in Ponyville. However, the wolf did not act like a normal wolf. It seemed like it was saying something like 'mommy'."

"My dream..." I muttered.

"And I think it was you. I check in my books for whatever your illness was, and I found something. But it's not a disease. It's more like a curse."

"A curse?!" I said.

"Yes, a curse. And it will cause you to transform into other animals. Fortunately, it can be controlled."

"Okay. Now, it's official, I'm nuts. I am not seeing anything of what's in front of me, I'm in a nice cushioned room down at the asylum." I said, backing up a little.

"I don't think so." A male voice said.

"Great. Him."

I looked around, and I saw a bird sitting on the window frame from where the voice came from. The bird then flapped its wings, flew inside and began to change into a man about twenty with brown eyes and short messy black hair. He was wearing a chain necklace with a copper coin pendant. As he transformed, I realised he was naked, so I looked away, and so did Fluttershy and Twilight.

"Come on. We're all adults, right. There's nothing wrong in any of you taking a peek at nature's creation."

"I'm eighteen! In the state I'm from, legal age's twenty-one!" I yelled.

"Sorry. Not exactly from the States. Wait a second."

I heard the man walk around a little, and after a while, he spoke.

"It's okay, now. You can all put your pretty little eyes on me."

I looked and he was dressed. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt and torn up blue denim jeans with bright red sneakers. His necklace was resting on his chest. He had what looked like a tattoo on his right forearm. It was a multi-century-old-looking tree.

"The name's Nathan Ladouceur."

"Jennifer Stone. But call me Jenny."

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, you're going to leave, Nathan." Twilight said as she pushed Nathan towards the door.

"Why? She needs a teacher after all."

"You're doing that just to be able to peek at her. I went to a human world, Nathan, and I know that males would do anything to see naked females." Twilight continued to push Nathan.

"I doubt she's even interested in men."

That made Twilight stop. She turned Nathan around and flew up to his eye level.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Um... You should calm down."

"Well, I did live with three sisters out of whom two were lesbians. I think I can tell, Twi." Nathan spat.

"Please calm down."

"Oh, really? Is that why you cheated on me?!"

"You're not bringing that up, are you?"

"CALM DOWN!" Fluttershy yelled, and we all looked at her. "Nathan, Twilight, we already went over that."

"Fine. But if I see you do anything wrong around her, you'll see what an Alicorn can do." Twilight menaced.

"Um... Twilight?" I said.

"WHAT?!" She snapped at me.

"He's right. I prefer people who are of the same gender as me." I said.

Nathan gave Twilight a 'I told you so' look, and she sighed.

"Good. Now, shall we start, Jenny?" Nathan asked as he opened the door of Fluttershy's cottage.

I quickly put my back pack on and I followed him outside. We went some distance away from Fluttershy's cottage. When Nathan stopped, he looked at me.

"This may sound crazy, but everything is real. But I doubt there's a way back."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've been stuck here for a year now, and I still don't have any idea how to go back home."

I nodded slowly. The little voice in my head was silent, and I could tell that it was beginning to believe all of what had happened was real.

"Alright. I said I'll teach you how to control the transformation, and I'll do just that. And keep in mind that here, eighteen is the legal age."

I instinctively placed my hands over my private areas despite the fact that I was completely dressed.

"Sure, I'll take a peek, but which straight guy, and lesbian, wouldn't?"

"Good point."

And with that, Nathan began teaching me how to turn on demand and how to control the shift. He explained everything I needed to know, and I practiced a little alone, even though I think he still took a peek. His 'class' ended at sun down, and I walked back to Fluttershy's cottage with an empty stomach. I slumped on the couch and I took out the beef jerky from my backpack.

"What is this?" Fluttershy asked as I took a bite.

"Meat." I said, my mouth still full.

"Oh... Humans eat meat, I forgot..." Fluttershy said as she slowly backed away.

"Don't worry, I don't eat that much meat. And besides, I can find other protein sources like eggs and nuts."

That seemed to ease Fluttershy as she slowly walked to me.

"How was the training?"

"Hard. But I think I understand how it works. And how to 'borrow' parts of different animals and have them while I'm human."

"Really?"

I nodded, and I finished the beef jerky, putting the plastic bag away in my backpack.

"But what does it mean exactly?"

"If I'm right, it means that I can, for example, have cat ears instead of human ears. Or have wings."

Fluttershy nodded, a smile growing on her face.

"What?"

"Well, as you explained what you meant by 'borrow', your ears changed to cat ears, and they are properly placed too."

I brought a hand to my head. I could feel the furry ears almost on the top of my head. I felt my cheeks burn, and the cat ears flattened against my skull, which made Fluttershy giggle. I focused, and my ears went back to normal. Fluttershy and I talked about me and my story up until we both went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Thanks to those who read this story. I would really appreciate more reviews, though. So, if you like this story, leave a review. If you don't like it, leave a review. Also, from now on, there will be a fictitious languague from my creation called Coranthan.**

**Disclaimer: MLP belongs to Hasbro. The OCs, the story, and Coranthan belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter two

Hw laqpa zao xnwrao [The Pack of Brave]

...

It had been about a week since I arrived in Equestria. During that week, I trained my ability to change form, ability Nathan calls 'shifting'. I made some friends, mostly Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity because of my personality being, in part, similar to theirs. I made myself a small hut in which I live. Fluttershy helped me settle in since she is my closest neighbour and a good friend.

* * *

I woke up, pushing my blanket aside. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. I yawned, and I walked out of my hut.

The sun was slowly rising in the east. I had developed the habit of waking up with the sunrise, and going to bed with the sunset. I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with cold late fall air. The air smelled the end of fall and the coming of winter. The leaves had fallen; a few days ago was the traditional 'Running of the Leaves'. I participated just to keep in shape, and I ended in fifth place.

I walked back in my hut. I made my bed, placing the blanket and the pillow neatly on the mattress. I grabbed my backpack, took out some dried fruits, ate them and left my hut. I walked towards Fluttershy's cottage, hoping my Vita was fully charged.

I got there and I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I knocked again, but still no answer. I walked around the cottage, but there was no signs of my yellow friend. Then, I heard someone cry. It sounded like a little girl about eight years old, and it came from the forest.

I ran towards the crying. I soon reached a clearing where I saw three human figures, one Pegasus figure, and three Timberwolves. I quickly ran to Fluttershy.

"Why are Timberwolves here?!" I asked.

"They followed them." Fluttershy said, pointing a hoof at the three kids.

The leading Timberwolf let out a roar, and it reminded me of something Nathan and I came up with to call for each other's help. To 'howl like a wolf under a full moon', to put it like Nathan did. I took a deep breath, and I howled like a wolf, and it sounded like a wolf with just a touch of humanity in it. The Timberwolves looked at me, unsure of what I was.

We all stayed there, sizing up each other while I waited for Nathan to come. But the longer I waited, the more the Timberwolves seemed ready to attack. Eventually, I got bored and moved first, but I was stopped dead in my track by a male voice I found all the most annoying right now.

"You called?" Nathan said from up a tree.

"About time you showed up." I retorted.

He jumped down from the tree, landing behind the Timberwolves.

"Let's make so fire wood." Nathan said.

He then jumped on the leading Timberwolf, giving me my cue to jump on another one of them. The tried to get us off, but they only managed to get some twigs out of their heads. Eventually, we made them bang each other's head. Thy fell to the ground in two piles of wood and moss. The remaining Timberwolf ran away with its tail between its legs.

"Thank you, Nathan." Fluttershy said.

"You're welcome." Nathan said before he ran away to wherever he lived.

I got closer to the little girl, but the oldest boy got in my way. I then saw that the youngest boy was injured badly.

"It's okay, she's a friend of mine. Jenny, could you help we get the injured boy to my cottage?"

I nodded and picked up the injured boy gently. I then saw the two other kids' forearms. Slashed and bleeding, just like me when I first arrived. I got the boy to Fluttershy's cottage, putting him down on the floor while Fluttershy went to get her first aid kit. She came back and began to tend the boy's wounds while I got the two other kids to the kitchen so I could patch them up, and learn as much as I could about them.

"So, who are you?" I asked the little girl.

"Don't answer her." The oldest boy said in a firm tone.

"You're not the only ones to have lost their home and family. I lost almost everything, too." I said.

I then folded my jacket's sleeves up, showing the six scars, three on each forearm. The little girl looked at her own forearms and gasped.

"You're like us." She said.

The boy looked down at his forearms, and let out a sigh.

"It might hurt a little." I told the girl before I began to clean the wounds.

She winced a little, but it was over soon. I bandaged her forearms, then I moved to the boy.

"Can you do it yourself, or do you want me to patch you up?"

He mumbled something, then he went in front of me. I cleaned and bandaged his wounds, then I looked at the two more attentively.

The girl was wearing a white dress and black shoes. Her hair was curly, blonde in color, and fell to her behind. She had emerald-green eyes.

The boy looked like he was about twelve. He was wearing a long-sleeved orange shirt with a blue denim jeans and white sneakers. He also had curly blonde hair, kept shoulder length. He had the same emerald-green eyes as the girl.

"Are brother and sister?" I asked.

"Yes, and the boy the yellow Pegasus is taking care off is also our brother."

"Her name is Fluttershy, Jacob." The little girl said.

"No, she is not a cartoon character, Lucy."

"Her name IS Fluttershy, and I am Jennifer, but I prefer Jenny."

"Why aren't you a pony?" Lucy asked.

I knelt down to be eye level with the little girl.

"You see, Lucy, I am from the same world as you." I said before I got back up. "And you will probably be stuck here for the rest of you lives."

Fluttershy walked in the kitchen.

"I did my best, but he needs a doctor, and fast."

I nodded and snatched my fully charged Vita and the charger, putting them in my backpack, before I left the cottage. I hurried to my hut, where I put my backpack down and got naked. I focused, and I began shifting to a wolf, the form I had the most ease with.

Once I was fully shifted, I went back to Fluttershy's cottage. I walked in, scaring Jacob but not Lucy. The latter walked to me and hugged me. Jacob quickly dragged Lucy away from me, and Fluttershy gently put the injured boy on my back. She strapped him there, and I ran towards the hospital as fast as I could without injuring further the boy.

* * *

We were all waiting in the library for Fluttershy to come back with the boy, who was named Franklin according to Jacob. Twilight was pacing around, like her usual self. Spike was trying to outrun Lucy who seemed to want to hug him and pat him and love him and call him George, you know, the usual.

Pinkie was, well, Pinkie. Nathan was perched on top of a shelf as a falcon, Rarity was sitting down on a cushion, Rainbow Dash was sprawled out in the stairs, reading the latest Daring Do book, and AJ was talking with Jacob. As for me, I was sitting with my back against the wall, listening to my music on my Vita.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door of the library finally opened. Standing in the door way was the nine-year-old Franklin. Like is two siblings, he had emerald-green eyes. However, his hair was black, straight and keep short. He was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, blue denim jeans and white sneakers.

Jacob and Lucy stopped what they were doing and they hugged their sibling. Fluttershy walked in and went to Twilight. Nathan and I promptly went to Twilight as well, Nathan perching himself on top of Fluttershy's head.

"So?" Twilight asked.

"Well, it's just like Nathan and Jenny. He healed up quickly, and the doctor said that something was weird about him. And he also has a mark that look like a multi-century old tree."

"Just like us." Nathan said.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Teach them, and protect them. Probably make something like a wolf pack, since our call is a wolf's call." Nathan suggested.

"And where will they sleep?" Twilight inquired.

"Ah can give 'em a place ta live fer now." AJ said as she inserted herself in the conversation.

Twilight nodded and AJ went to the siblings to tell them they would be staying with her family. Once she had told them, I walked to them and I spoke.

"Alright. Nathan and I will teach you to control your new ability, the one you received from what slashed your forearms. I'll teach Lucy and Nathan will teach Jacob and Franklin." I said.

"Alright, so follow me boys." Nathan said as he flew out through the door.

The two boys looked at each other and followed him, leaving Lucy with me.

"Alright, Lucy. Come with me."

Lucy and I left the library and we went to my hut. Once there, I explained the basics to Lucy, did a little demonstration, and she tried it for herself. She quickly understood how to shift, and how to 'borrow' from other forms. By the time I was ready to get her to Sweet Apple Acre, she had a wolf's tail she voluntarily borrowed. I brought her to Applejack, then I went back to my hut, ate some nuts, then went to sleep.

The next morning, I was awoken by Lucy and Applejack.

"Whaa?" I asked, still half asleep.

"Twilight want to see you." Lucy's little voice said.

"Alright." I said as I got up. "Just a moment."

I grabbed my backpack and I went outside, Lucy behind me. I greeted Applejack with a gesture of the hand, then the three of us walked to the library. In the library, I saw that Nathan, Jacob and Franklin were already there, and Twilight was pacing around. I walked inside, Lucy on my heels.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Last night, humans attacked a group of ponies. I know it's none of you, but I still have to ask you a few questions."

And so began the interrogation. Fortunately, it didn't take long before it was over. Applejack left, and we began to talk about those humans that attacked the ponies.

"Like I said, I saw them. And I can tell you this: they are not from Earth. One of them used magic. They had swords and spears made of copper. And they all wore medieval armor, with a symbol on the chest piece." Nathan said.

I immediately took out my pad of paper and some pencils and colouring pencils. Nathan took the pad and a pencil, and he began to draw. After some time, he switched from the pencil to the colouring pencils. Once he was done, he showed us the symbol.

A golden skull above what looked like a blood-red sea, like a sunset or a sunrise over the ocean.

I saw Jacob flinch at the sight of the symbol, and Twilight swallowed something, probably to avoid vomiting.

"I guess it's up to us to stop them, then." I said as I took the pad.

"Are you crazy?" Nathan asked.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised. I never believed in alternate universe or other worlds, and yet, here I am, completely alive. And I believe in this world." I said, walking around a little.

"You don't understand, do you? I saw what these guys are capable of, tabarnak. They are... Monsters!" Nathan replied.

"I said 'us', Nathan. Not 'me'." I said, showing the us five humans on the word 'us', and myself on the word 'me'. "We're in this together."

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it." Jacob said, shaking his head. "I'm tired of just standing there and not even lifting a finger when others need help. I'll fight."

"I wanna help, too." Lucy said.

I was about to protest, but Jacob prevented me.

"Trust me, she can fight. And Franklin too."

"Looks like you're the only one that doesn't want to help." I said, looking at Nathan.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said I didn't want to help. I asked if you were up to the task, is all." Nathan replied with a grin. "Let's waste these bastards."

* * *

It was the night, and I was a wolf. Above me, a falcon was making circles, looking in every direction for any signs of camp. After about a minute, the falcon moved towards one direction, and I followed. After a few minutes, I reached a clearing, and the falcon landed on a tree stump.

"Can't see shit up there. Wherever they are, they know the ponies'll be watching out for them. So no fire." Nathan, in is falcon form, said with a sigh. "Plus, a falcon isn't exactly a nocturnal beast. I can still try to shift into an owl, but..."

"Go ahead." I said.

I turned around and waited for him to shift. I could smell his odour, the odour of human flesh. I heard my stomach growl.

"Hungry?" Nathan asked jokingly.

"Yeah, and..." I said as I sniffed the air, picking up the sent of humans, but not Nathan, nor any of the three siblings. "Got 'em."

"About time you used the wolf's natural abilities. Eventually, your human form will develop some of the natural abilities of your favorite form. In my case, I can spot things several miles away, and that's as a human. Alright, let's go." Nathan said.

I nodded and took off running in the direction of the smell. Nathan took off and flew above me, silent just like an owl. After about an hour, we found their camp. I watched the camp while Nathan flew back to Fluttershy's cottage where the siblings were waiting.

About an hour and a half later, three young owls landed, two in one place, the other in another. They shifted, Lucy back to human, and the two boys into wolves. Then, a white dress was dropped over Lucy, and she put it on. With a nodded, I went to her, nuzzling her as I slashed her back. Once I was done, she walked in the camp, stumbling around and making a lot of noise.

Soon, men walked out of their tents to see what was going. When the saw Lucy, they woke the entire camp, and when the man who looked like the medic approached Lucy, she shifted into a fully grown adult bear. It was our cue to me and Lucy's brothers.

We jumped out of the bushes, and we fought against the humans. We killed most of them, and as I was walking through the camp looking for remaining humans to be taken as hostages, I found a girl about my age. She was wearing the armor of the men, but not proudly. She looked like she hated the symbol on the chest. She had sweet hazelnut eyes, and straight dark brown hair flowing past her waist. At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful.

We gathered the few men and women still alive. In total, we captured seven humans, three women and four men. We brought them back to Ponyville to be interrogated the next day. When we finally got them locked up, I proposed to stand guard near them. I was granted my wish, and I passed the night watching them. And talking with the brown-haired girl.

I walked to where the girl was, still in my wolf form. She was held in a separate cell, alone, as the other cells were full with the six other humans we captured. I spoke to her.

"Hey. What's your name?"

"Sylva." She answered, her voice feeling like silk.

"How old are you, Sylva?"

"Eighteen."

"I think your beautiful." I told her, much to my head's disagreement.

"Me hardly speak language you. Past, me be slave." She said, and I realised that she probably hardly understood what I had said to her.

I slowly came closer to the bars of her cell, passing my muzzle between them. Sylva slowly crawled to me, and she placed her hand in front of my muzzle. I sniffed a little, recording her scent. She smelled like wild flowers, but she also smelled like blood, fear, hatred and sorrow. I licked her hand to comfort her, and she giggled, which filled my heart with joy.

The morning came, and there was no problem with our hostages. Twilight interrogated all but two of them, Sylva and a man I suppose was their leader. When the man's turn came, I eagerly followed. I stayed outside of the room in which the interrogation was to take place, and I listened with my wolf's hearing.

"Who are you and why did you attack ponies?" Twilight asked.

"I am Commander Dexan, leader of the Golden Skull." The man answered, a strong accent in his rough voice.

"Why did you attack ponies?" Twilight repeated her question, seeing Dexan would not continue on his own.

"We attacked the lkjauo because they are living on our land, the land our ancestors lost to your filthy kind." Dexan said harshly.

"Why didn't you just asked Princess Celestia for some sort of agreement?" Twilight asked.

"We will never fall as low as to beg to the filthy grekal that claims to be your benevolent leader. She will die, and all of you saktel with her!" Dexan spat at Twilight.

"You plan to attack the Princess?" Twilight asked.

"I won't speak to a grekal of a lkjau." Dexan said.

"Then, you are of no more use to us." Twilight said, and she left the room.

I hurried around the building to catch with Twilight before she took Sylva in for interrogation. When I reached her, I immediately spoke.

"The remaining girl hardly speak our language. I spoke a little to her last night, but I couldn't get anything out of her but her name and her age. Her name is Sylva and she is eighteen." I said.

"I will still ask her a few question, and the language barrier won't be a problem since one of the women is ready to translate everything for us. That woman was a slave to them." Twilight told me, and I felt better. "If you want, you can be there with me."

Twilight got Sylva out of her cell and in the interrogation room with the woman that was going to translate everything.

"So, you're name is Sylva, right?" Twilight asked, and it was translated to Sylva's mother tongue.

She nodded slowly, looking at me. Twilight saw it and rose an eyebrow.

"Wolf speak me night. Wolf friend." Sylva said.

Twilight's face lit up a little, but she still glared at me. I lowered my head, and I felt like whining.

"Tell me your story." Twilight asked.

Sylva nodded once she heard the translated question. She spoke in her language for a long time before stopping to allow the translator to tell us what she had said.

"She said that she was a slave." The woman said with a strong accent. "When she was young, maybe four, her village became vassal to the Golden Skull, a group of rogue soldiers. She was captured and enslaved because of her magical abilities. She belonged to Dexan and was often brought up during meetings with other smaller factions as a sign of nobility. She was also used as a mage, but Dexan never thought good to teach her other tongues. Dexan also mistreated her because of her impure attraction."

"Impure attraction?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. She is attracted by those of the same gender, and it is considered blasphemy and heresy to have such relations in our culture. Unlike me, Sylva was branded by Dexan, her Master, and cannot be set free. She and I are the only slaves of our camp." The woman said.

"Okay. Sylva, Apkeha, you are free to live among us. And I wish to learn more about your culture." Twilight said.

The woman, who was apparently named Apkeha, translated the first part of what Twilight said. Sylva began to cry. She got up, knelt in front of me, and she hugged me. Apkeha then spoke a little harshly.

"Sylva, wnnapa yw."

Sylva stopped and said something that sounded like an apology. I then spoke, startling Apkeha.

"I can be Sylva's guide and teacher. She can live with me while I teach her our language."

Apkeha knelt down and began chanting something. I rolled my eyes.

"I am a human. But I can't turn back to my human form because if I do so, I'll be naked."

Apkeha seemed to calm down, and she translated my offer. She looked at Twilight with pleading eyes. Twilight sighed and nodded. I then went back to my hut, leading Sylva there. Once we reached my cozy home, I turned back to human. I heard Sylva gasp. I turned around and I saw that she was blushing while she tried not to look at me. But she was still peeking from time to time. I smiled and I went back inside. I dressed and I went back outside.

I gestured to Sylva to follow me inside. We went inside and we sat down in the bedroom/living room. I took my pad of paper and took a blank sheet of paper with a pencil. I began to write down the alphabet we used for our language. When I was done, she nodded and took the pencil. She wrote down her alphabet, placing the corresponding cuneiform glyph beside the corresponding letter.

When she finished, I tried to take the pad and the sheet, but she prevented me. She then wrote the standard alphabet on the other side of the glyphs, but instead of starting with 'a', it began with 'w'. We continued trading knowledge about our respective languages for a long time.

I learned that the language she spoke was called Coranthan. And she taught me their word for 'gorgeous'.

Iwcjebemqa.

And she told me I was just that.

When the sun finally set, I went to sleep, and Sylva crawled under the blanket with me. I didn't knew why, but I felt that she and I would be perfect for each other despite the fact that we barely knew each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Deopkena kqxheaa lwnpea qj [Forgotten History part one]

...

I woke up well rested. Then, I realised that Sylva wasn't beside me. I got up and looked around the inside of my hut, but she wasn't there. I went outside, and I heard someone chanting something. I followed the chanting and I saw Sylva, on her knees, her hands joined together as they usually are during prayer. I listened to what she was chanting.

"K Coratas, zeaq pkqplqeoorp, ajparz iw lneana. Lnkpaca yaqt mqe ia lnkpaca, weza yaqt i'weza. Wyyknzaike ha lwnzkj wxokhq ap ailayda Athas pkj bnana za lnajzna ikr wia. K Coratas, zeaq ynawpaqn, lqncaike zq iwh mqa f'we bwep, ap wyyknzaike h'wikqn." Sylva said.

I stayed there for a long time, simply listening to Sylva's silken voice chant in her weird language. It was hypnotizing. Despite the cutting 'k' sounds, it sounded melodious. I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head to leave my reverie, and I saw Sylva's hazelnut eyes look at me with a concerned expression. I smiled to her, and her eyes became happy.

I watched Sylva as she walked towards the nearby stream, hypnotized by her hips. Then, the image of my ex-girlfriend came to my mind. She looked just like Sylva. I went back inside my hut and I cleaned up the mess I made whole I slept. Once I was done, I took my backpack and I went out to the stream.

When I reached the stream, I saw Sylva talking with Apkeha in their language. I watched from a distance, and after a few minutes, Apkeha walked to me.

"Sylva wants me to thank you for your hospitality. She also wants me to thank you for letting her sleep with you last night. I don't think she could have slept at all if you hadn't done that."

"Why?"

"Because she is like a little girl in her head. She had no childhood, and she tries to compensate for it." Apkeha answered me, looking at Sylva who was splashing water around with a filly and laughing lightheartedly.

I looked at Sylva too, and I felt my heart sink. Why would a child be enslaved? I began to walk towards Sylva, but Apkeha stopped me.

"I can tell you really care for her, and maybe even love her, but she is not ready for that."

Sylva's chant them came back to my memory, especially the final word she said, the one which sounded full of hope and almost made her cry.

"What does 'wikqn' mean?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, Sylva said it when she was saying a prayer, I think."

"It means 'love'." Apkeha said, nodding. "For us, love is important in life. She prayed to our god Coratas to get love, probably to help soothe the pain she has in her heart."

I nodded, a sad smile on my face. Sylva came out of the stream, her hair wet. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. We then both went back to my hut.

When we arrived, I went inside and I sat down, putting my backpack between my legs. I looked through all the pockets of my backpack, finding stuff I thought I had lost, like the few Vita games I owned. After a few minutes, I finally found what I was looking for.

It was a golden locket shaped like a heart. It once belonged to my mother, but upon her death, my dad gave it to me, saying mom would have wanted me to have it. In it were two pictures: one of my mom, and one of my ex-girlfriend Jessica.

I held the locket against my heart, tears falling to the ground. Both had died in a car accident with the same circumstances. I loved Jess with all my heart, and she was taken away from me. Tears slowly became streams on my cheeks, the painful memories of Jess' funeral flooding back my head and thoughts.

Then, I felt a hand on my back. I turned around, trying to stop crying and failing miserably. Sylva was there, patting my back, tears in her own eyes. She was even more beautiful now than she was when I first met her. I turned away from her, Jess' face overlapping itself on Sylva's.

Sylva then hugged me. I let myself go in her gentle embrace, crying all the tears of my body for my mom and ex-girlfriend. I could hear Sylva singing something in her language. It sounded like a nursery rhyme, and it slowly eased the pain. After a while, everything was silent and peaceful, except for us breathing. Then, someone knocked on the makeshift door of my hut.

"Come in." I said as I dried my cheeks.

Apkeha then walked in. She sat down in front of me and Sylva.

"I heard Sylva sing a lullaby from our home, and it gave me an idea. I am willing to translate Sylva's story for you to hear."

I nodded, and Sylva began. After a while, she stopped and Apkeha began translating.

"Like you already know, Sylva was enslaved at four. During her life as a slave, she had to work really hard on Dexan's land. She was mistreated and underfed most of the time. Fortunately, Dexan is a really religious person, and he feared the church enough to not touch Sylva at all. But he still hit her when she was being slow or whenever he wanted. She never had any childhood because of that. It is why she acts like she does, to have a childhood."

"I can't believe it. Could you translate my story for Sylva?"

Apkeha nodded, and I began to tell my story, about my mom and my girlfriend. When Apkeha was done translating it for Sylva to understand, Sylva was crying. She hugged me again, and it made me cry. Apkeha slowly left us alone.

Time went by quickly, and we soon fell asleep. When I woke up, the next morning, Sylva was still by my side. She was awake and looking at me with a smile.

"Pq naooaixha w qja Wexa mqwjz pq zkno." She said.

"Huh?"

Sylva thought for a few minutes, then she spoke again, this time in English.

"You look angel when sleep."

It was enough for me to understand what she meant. I hugged her and thanked her, even if she could not understand it. We prepared ourselves for the day, and we left my hut. We walked in Ponyville and ended in front of the library. Twilight saw us and came to invite us in.

We followed her inside where Apkeha, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor were sitting on cushion placed in a circle.

"What the hell?" I said as I took a seat next to Princess Celestia. "Could somepony explain things?"

"Apkeha will explain to us why the Golden Skull attacked ponies." The Princess of the day explained.

Apkeha took a deep breath, and began the story.

"It started several years ago..."

...

_3rd person POV, fourteen years before Luna's return_

...

A young man was waiting in a hallway of stone. Torches provided light and were placed at regular intervals. The young man seemed to be around twenty-four or twenty-five. He had hazelnut eyes and short and well-combed light brown hair. He had the shadow of a beard. He was wearing a copper chest piece and a cape lined with red velvet over regular linen clothes. He had a black leather belt with a sheathed dagger hanging from it and resting against his left leg. He also wore military sandals.

Suddenly, the door in front of which the young man had been pacing opened, letting a man in his late thirties out. Another man stayed in the room. He wasn't young, but he wasn't old either, probably mid-forties. His face showed experience. He had hazelnut eyes and short and slightly messy light brown hair that was beginning to turn grey. He had a few weeks old beard with a lot of grey in it.

The man was wearing a copper chest piece as well, but it was more ornate and showed a high rank, and he also had a cape, but his was lined with purple velvet. All of that was worn over regular linen clothes, but the clothes showed wealth. He had a black leather belt with a golden buckle, and a sheathed sword hung from the belt, resting on his left leg. On his head was a highly ornate golden crown.

"You wish to talk to me, son?" The man asked as he went further into the room.

"Yes, Father. I wish to meet with the pony Princess." The young man answered as he followed the man who was his father.

"And why should I permit you to do such a thing?"

"Because you have no other choice. The rogue factions are circling the smaller villages, and they will soon come for Coratas. Your time is counted. Mine too. And my family's too. We need their help, and you know it."

The man let out a tired sigh.

"Athalon, listen to me. I know how to fight a war. Bringing the ponies into this mess will only get them killed." The man explained.

"If you do not send me as an envoy, Father, then I shall go there of my own will. And you cannot stop me." Athalon said firmly on the edge of anger.

"Listen to your father, Athalon. I beg you. If you go, you will be leaving your wife and your beautiful daughter." A woman said as she walked through a hidden archway.

The woman was about the same age as Athalon's father. She had mesmerizing blue eyes and long blonde hair that was almost all grey. She was wearing a simple white dress.

"I know that, Mother, and it is not happily that I am taking this decision. But something has to be done against the rogue factions! I live in one of those villages, and it is only a matter of time before they reach it." Athalon said, anger and sadness mixing together in his voice.

Everything was silent for a while. Then, Athalon's father spoke.

"If you must go, then I shall not interfere with your decision. But keep in mind that you are doing this of your own will. My decision was already taken, and it will stay the same. But I still wish you luck, Athalon. And take this."

The man untied the sheath and handed it to Athalon.

"This was your grandfather's sword. He gave it to me just before he passed away, and I intended to do the same, but it seems destiny has other plans. May it and Coratas keep you safe on your journey."

"Thanks, Father." Athalon said with a small bow.

He turned around and began to walk out, tying the sheath to the left side of his belt. The woman, who seemed to be Athalon's mother, looked at Athalon's father with a desperate look.

"Please, Vaxol. Please say something. You are our king, and you cannot let your own son walk away like this." The woman said with tears forming in her eyes.

"I am so sorry, Salna. But our son has made his mind. I just hope he will succeed before it is too late." Vaxol said as he tried to comfort his wife.

* * *

Athalon walked swiftly in the stone hallways towards the stables. On his way there, several maids and butlers greeted him. He returned the greetings with a simple wave of the hand. His mind was set on something he thought of as important for the well-being of his future subjects, and of his own family.

When he finally reached the stables, the guard in post there promptly saluted the young Prince.

"Prepare my idrakli. Immediately." Athalon ordered the guard.

"Yes, my liege."

The guard dropped his copper lance and grabbed a saddle. He went to the Prince's idrakli's box, and put the saddle on the horse-like bipedal creature. Once the saddle was secured, the guard brought the idrakli to Athalon, who promptly jumped on the saddle and high-tailed it out of the castle's stables.

Athalon's mount was one of the fastest, and she was going almost at her top speed. The wind was rushing past Athalon's ears as he passed in the empty streets of Coratas, the capital of Corantha, his country. The night was cool, but Athalon barely noticed as he got his mount to accelerate.

In a matter of minutes, Athalon reached the north gate of Corathas. The guards saw him and opened the gate without stopping him. As the gate closed behind him, Athalon shed a single tear, feeling sorry to leave his wife and daughter without even going back to say farewell.

Athalon rode all night and half of the following day, stopping to rest his tired mount when the sun was high in the sky and the heat of the summer too much to handle. Athalon slept for a few hours before resuming his journey to Canterlot, the sun slowly setting.

That was Athalon's daily routine for a few days before he reached the last town in Corantha before entering Equestria. The Prince slowly rode into the village, one of the rare villages still loyal to the crown of Coratas. He stopped at the local inn and ate. He slept the night in the inn, ready to keep going when the sun would rise again.

During all that time, Athalon never stopped thinking about his wife and daughter. Nor did he ever forgot his self-imposed mission to seek the help of the ponies. Never in his life was he more determined to accomplish his task.

* * *

It took a total of ten months to reach Canterlot. Ten months of riding at night, hiding from the sight of the ponies. During the day he would rest and look for food. And one the day of his daughter's birth, four years prior, he prayed for her to be spared anything should ever happen to his wife while he was gone. During that day, he cried all the tears of his body, all his thoughts but one focused on his daughter.

When Athalon reached Canterlot, his beard and hair had grown a lot, he was filthy and dirty, and he had lost several pounds. Using the cover of night to sneak into Canterlot, Athalon hid his idrakli where no one could find her, and proceeded to enter the castle. He got in, and went to the desert throne room, waiting for the pony he wanted to see.

When the sun rose and Celestia finally walked in the throne room with two guards, Athalon was sleeping in Celestia's throne. The guards took their weapons, but Celestia stopped them and asked them to leave her alone. The guards obeyed, and Athalon rose to his feet. He bowed to the Princess of the day, almost falling down. Celestia helped him up, and she spoke.

"_Perhaps you should freshen up a little?_" Celestia proposed.

"_That would be a great idea._" Athalon answered Celestia, his knowledge of the pony tongue far beyond the average of Coranthians.

After a good bath, a shave and a haircut, Athalon started over. He bowed, but this time he kept his balance.

"_I am Prince Athalon Mikos._" Athalon said as he straightened from his bowing.

"I know what you are, and where you are from, Prince Athalon." Celestia told the young man in his own language.

"I did not know you spoke Coranthan."

"There are many things my own subjects ignore about me."

Once she had finished her sentence, Celestia was engulfed in a powerful white light. When it faded, not a pony stood in Celestia's place, but a human. That human looked like a man with feminine features. It had a pale pink-ish white skin with great, majestic pink-ish white feathered wings. Its eyes were rose, and it had a long, ethereal multi-coloured hair. The human wore ceremonial Coranthian clothes, which consisted of a white linen shirt and brown leather three-quarter pants. It also had a single long pink-ish white horn protruding from the middle of its forehead.

Upon seeing the human, Athalon knelt down.

"Okhaeh!" He said, both in shock and astonishment.

"I am indeed the god you call 'Okhaeh'. However, your people took me for a man, while I am a woman." Celestia said as she circled the kneeling Prince. "Why are you here, far from your people?"

"I came seeking your help." Athalon said.

Celestia stopped circling and stared at Athalon.

"Why would your king want the help of ponies?"

"He does not. I came here of my own will. My Father does not see the urgency in our current situation. A civil war is threatening the lives of innocent people, but my Father refuses to send the army against those who rebelled."

"Unfortunately, I cannot help you. We have, as a policy, to let the others take care of their own problems." Celestia explained as she went to sit on her throne.

Athalon rose to his feet, anger boiling inside him. He glared at Celestia.

"One day, those who seek to kill my Father and his family will come for the ponies. When this time comes, I hope you all suffer." Athalon spat before turning around and leaving the castle to go back home.

As he made his way towards his mount, his eyes filled with tears. He hopped on his mount, and went back to Coratas, not even bothering to hide. His trip back took much less time than when he went to Canterlot as he went straight for Coratas. The trip took a total of five months.

By the time he came back, even more villages had fallen to the factions. But Athalon was far from spared. As he approached the village he and his wife lived in with their daughter, he saw the smoke rising from the houses. He hurried the pace of his mount, hoping everything was fine.

As he reached the first houses, his heart sank. Most of them were destroyed and still burning, although the fires seemed to be a few days old. Spread across the street were corpses of person he knew, some were even his friends. When he reached his house, he let out a cry of anger and sorrow. He dismounted and went inside the ruins of his house.

He looked around for corpses. When he reached the master's bedroom, he began to cry. Laying on the floor were the charred remains of a woman. Athalon knelt down beside the body of his wife, and he cried. When he could cry no more, he gently lifted the corpse, and he brought it out. As he set it down, he realised that she was holding something. Carefully, he opened the hands to reveal a silver cross with the symbol of Hqra, a full moon surrounded by three stars in a north-west-east formation. Hqra was the god of the moon, of religion and guardian of Mages.

Athalon took the necklace, and built a pyre to cremate his wife. Once the body was on the pyre, Athalon went back inside, the silver cross hanging from his belt. He searched the entire house, but found no trace of his daughter. He went back outside, lit the pyre and prayed for his wife and daughter.

As the ashes of Athalon's wife rose in the sky, war cries sounded in the distance, signaling that another village would soon fall.

* * *

**Hey there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**FYI, in the sort of flashback, what is in italic is normal English, while what is in normal writing is Coranthan.**

**See you next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Deopkena kqxheaa lwnpea zaqt [Forgotten History part two]

...

Three days after Athalon's wife was cremated, Athalon was back in Coratas. He had sent a message to some of his men, the most trustworthy of them. Athalon was pacing in front of those seven men and women.

There was Apkeha Iltan, his second-in-command and one of his best female friends. She was of average height and of average weight. She had shoulder-length black hair and eyes the colour of old gold. Her brother was also there. He was one of the most skilled Ajandeyeaj he knew of. He was a short and chubby man with short greasy black hair, a greasy black beard and rough tanned skin with many scars. His eyes were a vivid blue. His name was Tekal Iltan.

"You are crazy, Athalon." Tekal said in a deep rough voice.

"I know what I saw. We need to attack the Golden Skull while we have the advantage of surprise." Athalon replied.

"And how do you know it was the Golden Skull that did it?" A young man asked.

He was leaning his back against the stone wall of the room, his legs crossed. He was slightly taller than Athalon and had a slightly tanned skin. He had shoulder length greasy black hair, a trimmed black beard and grey eyes. Resting beside him on his left was a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Listen, Jalor. Whenever the Golden Skull attacks, they leave something similar to a skull. I found one hanging in front of the door of my house." Athalon replied to the man who was apparently called Jalor.

"Now stop. Both of you." Apkeha ordered the two men. "Even if they did do it, we need to have your father's agreement."

"We could still act on our will." A woman with blue eyes in her early twenties said.

"Yes. And we could get a head start as well." Another woman identical to the one who talked just before, except for the eyes, added.

Those two women were twins. They were of average height, and slim. Their skin was a pale white. They had mid-back-length slightly dirty dark blonde hair. The only difference between the two were their eyes; one had green eyes, the other had blue eyes.

"Are you suggesting we rebel against our King, Nalika?" Jalor asked the blue-eyed woman.

"She is not suggesting that, Jalor. Now behave." Athalon ordered firmly.

"Fine."

"Malika, Nalika. Are you sure this will work?" Athalon asked the twins.

"We don't know." Malika answered for the two.

"Delkor, what about you?" Apkeha asked a man who was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

"What I think is of no importance, Apkeha. We are the best soldiers Corantha has, and yet, our King refuses to send us to fight." Delkor answered as he straightened on his chair.

Delkor was a tall man with pale skin. His hair was pale blonde and he kept it really short, His eyes were cold and the colour of desert sand. His voice was like sandpaper.

"He probably has his reasons." Jalor said.

"ENOUGH!" Athalon hated to raise his voice, but he had no choice. "And you, Kalia. What do you think?"

"What I think? Bring them on, that is what I think." The woman named Kalia replied to her commanding officer with a smirk.

Kalia was shorter than average. She looked like she was barely fifteen years old despite being twenty-three. Her skin had no flaw and was coloured with a golden tan. She had mid-back-length curly blonde hair and soft green eyes.

"So? What do we do?" Tekal asked.

"We wait." Athalon answered.

The seven soldiers got up and saluted their commanding officer before leaving.

* * *

About ten years after their meeting, Athalon and his seven trusted companions gathered once more. But this time, they were going to fight the Golden Skull. The eight soldiers were all wearing their battle armour, although they looked different. Athalon's armour was, like all the other armour, made of copper. He had pieces covering each legs in two segments open on the back of the legs. He had pieces covering both arms, and like for the legs, they were in two parts and open on the back. He also wore a chest piece, but it was more ornate than most, showing his rank.

Apkeha's armour was identical to Athalon's and also ornate, however much less than Athalon to show she was second-in-command. Nalika's armour was also identical to Apkeha's and Athalon's, but without any ornament. The armours Tekal and Malika were wearing were made for Mages. These armour were lighter than the standard armour - the kind of armour Apkeha, Nalika and Athalon were wearing - and they had a cape and hood attached to the chest piece.

Jalor's armour was much lighter than the Mage armour to allow him a greater liberty of movement as he was an archer. Kalia's armour was a simple leather armour to grant her as much liberty as possible and to do as little noise as possible for she was a thief/spy/scout. Delkor's armour was also the leather armour, but he had a single plate of iron on his right forearm, covering the front but not the back. Small curved spikes were covering the plate. This little piece was custom-made for him, and it helped him in his job as he was an assassin/scout.

The small group was currently sitting around a campfire, waiting for dawn before moving to attack. They all had their weapons layed out in front of them. Kalia's weaponry consisted of two copper combat daggers. Delkor, Kalia's husband, had a copper short sword and a copper dagger. Malika had her Mage staff, of course, but she also carried a copper broadsword.

Tekal's weaponry consisted of his Mage staff and a copper knife. Nalika used two copper broadswords. Apkeha had a copper long sword. Athalon had his copper dagger and the sword of his grandfather. He un-sheathed it, revealing an ornate iron blade. It was light despite being as long as Apkeha's long sword, and it seemed strong. Athalon sheathed the sword and put it on the ground with his dagger.

Jalor's weaponry consisted of a copper dagger, his longbow and his copper head arrows. Jalor was the only archer in the Coranthian army to use copper head arrows, the others using much cheaper stone head arrows.

"All we have to do now is wait." Athalon said.

When dawn finally came, Athalon and his group began moving towards a stone building where there was to be a meeting of the heads of several of the factions, including the Golden Skull's leader, Dexan Ustor. The group split, Jalor staying hidden in the bushes while the others went for different entrances.

As soon as they entered the building, the fight began. The soldiers of each faction fell like flies, and soon, Athalon, Apkeha, Malika, Nalika, Tekal, Kalia and Delkor regrouped in front of a door. Apkeha opened the door, and she was dragged in by magic. She looked around, and she yelled to Athalon.

"She is here! Your daughter is here!"

Athalon then rushed in, followed by the others. However, they were taken by surprise as the building caught on fire. The six remaining soldiers fought continuously until Delkor and Nalika were injured. They retreated back to Jalor, who was giving them cover with arrows.

When they came back to Coratas, Athalon and the four uninjured walked in the throne room where Vaxol was sitting.

"Father! You need to declare war against the factions." Athalon said.

"Calm down, Athalon." Vaxol said before realising not all of Athalon's best soldiers were there. "Where are the others?"

"Apkeha was captured and she is probably dead, and Nalika and Delkor were injured." Athalon explained.

"And why should we declare war against them?"

"Because they conquered most villages, because they are probably planning to take over Coratas and because they have my daughter!" Athalon was almost screaming when he finished.

"Fine." Vaxol conceded.

...

_Jenny's POV, present day._

...

"After war had been declared, Delkor died of his injury. Nalika got out alive, but she could no longer fight. It took three years before Coratas finally won, but the factions are still out there, and they plan on taking control of Equestria for the resources... And the ponies." Apkeha finally ended her story.

"And how do you know all that?" I asked.

Apkeha let out a small chuckle.

"I am Apkeha Iltan, second-in-command to Prince Athalon Mikos. His daughter was captured by Dexan and made his slave. The daughter's mother was my friend, and she was called Vania. And she kept saying that if she ever had a girl, she would call her Sylva in honor of the forests under Leanna's protection, under the protection of the goddess of nature, Health and medicine." Apkeha was looking at Sylva during the entire time.

Sylva seemed to realise something as her eyes began to water.

"Iana, Lana..." Sylva said under her breath before the dam holding her tears broke.

"Why is she crying?" Luna asked.

"Because her name is Sylva Mikos. She is the heiress of Corantha's crown." Apkeha said.

She then looked at Celestia.

"Why didn't you help us, Okhaeh?"

"Because I was afraid of what your people could do to my little ponies once the conflict was over." Celestia answered.

Luna looked at her sister with a confused look.

"Why Tia? Why did you refuse to help them?" The Princess of the night asked.

"Because of their history. Because of their culture. Their history is one big blood bath, and they consider slavery normal. They have their own kind as slaves and pets to show they are more powerful than others. That's why, Luna." Celestia answered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"It's not too late to change your mind, Princess." I said once I got up.

Apkeha smiled as she looked at me.

"Sylva aop rnweiajp ydwjyaqoa za p'wrken pnkqran. F'aolana mqa rkqo oanav daqnaqoa ajoaixha." She said quietly before speaking to all of us. "She is right. The king, Athalon's father, fell ill at the end of the civil war, and I think he died. If we go to Coratas now, we might be able to stop the Golden Skull. And reunite a father with his daughter."

A chill ran down my spine when Apkeha said that. My dad's face then popped up in my head, and I tried my best not to cry. Celestia got up and looked at all of us.

"I will not go with you on your journey." She said.

"Then I'll go in your place, Tia." Luna said as she got up.

"I wish to study more closely the culture of Coranthians, so I'll go too." Twilight said.

"And the pack's coming, too. Since we're humans, we'll fit in more than two Alicorns." I added.

Apkeha looked at me with a serious expression.

"Jennifer, you and your pack will have to learn Coranthan. I can teach Twilight and Hqra, but I doubt Sylva can teach more than one person at a time."

"Who's Hqra?" I asked.

"Okhaeh's twin brother. At least in our mythology. I named your Princess' sister like that because she reminds me of the night and the moon." Apkeha explained.

"I am the Princess of the night and I raise and lower the moon." Luna said proudly.

"And you seem to be the sister of Okhaeh, which makes you Hqra." Apkeha concluded.

"I'll come too. That way, I can asses the military power and threat level of Corantha to us ponies. And I can also see what your army is capable of." Shining said, breaking the silence he and his wife were locked in.

Once all the arrangements were settled, we began to prepare. Twilight asked Rarity to make clothes for all of us who were going to Coratas under Apkeha's supervision. Sylva taught me her language to the most of her ability, going all the way as using magic to help me learn it. When I had enough knowledge of the language, I began teaching Nathan, Franklin, Lucy and Jacob, with the help of Sylva.

Shining Armor ordered armour for him, as well as weapons, all of which were to be made like the Coranthians made their weapons and armour. The preparation took over a month, almost two, and during that entire time, me and Sylva only grew closer to each other. One night she even said that she thought she had feelings for me, although she was unsure if they were real.

Towards the the end, Sylva told me that she was still sleeping with me during the night not because she needed to be comforted, but because she felt good and safe with me. The night she said that, she also kissed me, and I just felt happy. That night, we slept embracing each other.

The following day, she also proposed that we washed together. The reason why she proposed that was because I was stinking since I hadn't taken a bath in what seemed like ages. When Sylva undressed herself to walk in the stream we chose to wash in, I saw her back first, and I saw what looked like feathers covering her back almost entirely.

She told me that her father was a Wexa, an angel, and that these humans had feathers instead of hair. Most of them would only grow feathers on their back, but some would actually have feathers on the head as well, and absolutely no hair. Sylva's feathers were the same colour as her hair, and she plucked one out and gave it to me. I attached a string to it, and I wore that feather around my neck, along with my usual necklace, ever since.

When the day we had to leave came around, Sylva and I left the hut with all of our belongings, which meant my backpack with my pillow and my blanket for me, and Sylva's clothes for Sylva. We walked to the library, and once we were inside, Rarity came with our respective clothes.

Sylva's clothing consisted of a purple and red linen dress with lacing on the back. The dress also came with a belt. The dress, once worn, covered Sylva's feet. Her cloak was made of dark brown leather. My clothing also consisted of a dress. It was dark green in colour, and it also had lacing on the back, and, like Sylva's, it covered my feet when worn. My cloak was identical to Sylva's and every other cloak. Lucy's clothing consisted of a simple white dress with no lacing. It did come with a belt.

Twilight's clothing consisted of a sleeveless light magenta dress that covered the feet when worn with a dark magenta shirt she wore over the dress. The dress also came with a belt. Both had lacing; the dress' was on the back and the shirt's was on the front. Luna's clothing consisted of a black and midnight blue dress identical to mine and Sylva's.

All the boys clothing were identical. It consisted of an ample white linen shirt with a brown leather three-quarter pants and a leather belt. Apkeha already had her own clothing, except the cloak. Luna and Twilight then walked down the stairs, and Shining Armor walked in the library with some armor, a copper sword, and several copper daggers, all of which were in sheaths. He was followed by Nathan, Jacob, Franklin and Lucy.

We then went in two separate rooms to change. Luna and Twilight then casted a spell on themselves, turning them to humans. Celestia probably taught them the spell so they would fit more than if they stayed ponies. However, their horns and wings were still visible. Both had pale skin of a standard colouration, unlike Celestia who had a skin with the same colour as her coat. We all put on our clothes and cloaks, then we went back in the main room of the library, ready to hear what Apkeha had to say before we finally went to Coratas.

"When we reach Coratas, we might have difficulties passing the city's militia. We do not fight unless we are attacked. We only want to reach the King, not get arrested. Everyone got that?"

We all nodded, and Apkeha led us outside of the library. And thus began our journey to Coratas.

* * *

_3rd person POV, present day._

Athalon was sitting on his throne, his head in his hands. Ever since his father's death and the victory of Coratas over the factions, leading had been worse than going to the Underworld to face Athas, the god of death, diseases and ruler of the Underworld.

Suddenly, a small breeze blew in the throne room, causing Athalon to look up. He saw a beautiful woman with blue eyes, curly long dark blonde hair going past her waist and a pale skin. She wore a simple white dress and was barefoot. One of the most unnatural thing about her was what came out of her back. Great, jet black feathered wings, and the were partly unfolded.

Athalon glared angrily at the woman.

"How dare you come back in my presence, Iwhaxa?" Athalon said harshly and almost yelling.

"Calm down, sir. I am only here to inform you that the Golden Skull will send slaves to attack." Iwhaxa replied in a voice as smooth as an angel's.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because deep inside you, you know I am telling the truth." Iwhaxa said as she walked around Athalon, passing a finger on the King's jaw line and cheek.

"If you have nothing else to say, then go." Athalon said, ending the conversation.

"As you wish, your highness." Iwhaxa said with a small bow, causing her wings to unfold more.

She then turned around and walked out of the throne room. As the door closed behind her, an evil smirk grew on her face, and she let out a small evil chuckle.

"_Soon, I will get my revenge on all those who made me suffer. And you are included, dear sister. Your little Jenny will soon join me, and there is nothing you can do to stop me._" The woman known to Coranthians as Iwhaxa said to herself. "_Soon, my name will be known to all and will cause everyone to shiver in fear._"

Iwhaxa slowly walked away, and then vanished into thin air, leaving only a few jet black feathers as a proof of her evil presence.

* * *

**Hey guys, what's up? So, we know that Sylva is the daughter of Athalon, who is now the King of Corantha. But who is that mysterious woman with jet black wings? You'll know soon enough. But for now, Jenny, Sylva, Luna, Apkeha, Twilight, Shining Armor, Nathan, Jacob, Lucy and Franklin are going to Coratas to meet with Athalon.**

**In the next chapters, Coranthan will be written as it is normally written by me, since I'm the only speaker of the language. However, for your own convenience and comfort, I will include the translation in brackets at the end of every spoken line in Coranthan. See you next chapter! And don't forget to review. ShiningShadow is nice enough to review, but I would like to hear what others have to say about this story so far. Anyway, see ya!**

**Oh, one last thing. I am ready to teach Coranthan, but you need to PM me your interest, and maybe, I say maybe, I will teach you. See ya, for real this time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey. Why aren't anyone leaving any BLOODY REVIEWS?! Anyways, here's chapter five, hope you enjoy it. AND. LEAVE. SOME. BLOODY. REVIEWS!**

* * *

Chapter five

Ha lnaiean zab [The First Challenge]

...

_Jenny's POV, present day._

It had been about three days since we left Ponyville. We already had a lot of ground covered, but according to Apkeha, we still had a long way to go, about five months if we were fast.

The terrain had changed from fertile land to rocky ground, and the elevation of the ground itself was decreasing. Rapidly, as in drops. Plus, we were in an area where rain was more frequent. And to our great pleasure, it had been raining continuously for a day and a half now.

As I stepped on a rock to go down the small cliff we had to pass to continue, I slipped and lost my footing on the slippery wet rock. Thankfully, Twilight was just behind me and she grabbed me using her magic. She levitated me to the bottom of the chasm and then teleported herself.

"Watch your step, Jenny." She told me.

I nodded as I regained control of my breathing. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Sylva's smiling face. I smiled back to her.

Once we were all down in the chasm with the rain still falling down on us, Apkeha walked to the front of the group, scouting the area a little. When she came back, she spoke to us.

"Okay. This chasm is some sort of shortcut. It will buy us a day, two if we walk all night. This chasm leads to a cave system the ponies know nothing about, and it is how Dexan's group came in Equestria."

"What kind of shortcut is it?" Shining Armor asked.

"One that passes under the thick forest above. Trust me, those caves are much friendlier than the forest." Apkeha replied, which made Shining Armor gulp.

We began to walk forward, but Apkeha stopped, extending a hand to make us stop.

"What is it?" Shining Armor whispered.

"Vwekolar. Wolves." Apkeha answered.

As she said that, dark grey wolves appeared above us, looking down into the chasm. They were growling and snarling, clearly pissed that they could not attack us. Then, a woman walked out of the darkness ahead. She was about the same height as Sylva. She had long curly black hair that stopped at her knees, similar to a tail. Her eyes were a vivid sky blue, and her skin was white. She was wearing a dirty white dress and was barefoot.

As she kept approaching us, she smiled, revealing her teeth. She had what looked like wolf fangs. She then began to laugh.

"Peajo, peajo, peajo. Nacwnzav ya mqa jkqo wrkjo eye. Qj cnkqla z'dqiwejo zenecan lwn Apkeha Iltan. Pkqpa qja oqnlneoa. [My, my, my. Look at what we have here. A group of humans led by Apkeha Iltan. What a surprise.]" The woman said.

"Apaorkqo hw Zwia wqt hkqlo? (Are you the Lady with the wolves?)" Apkeha asked as she un-sheathed her sword.

"Aj bwep, kqe. Fa oqeo Najwenza. Ap qja lanokjja i'w zaiwjza za rkqo pqan. Kq zq ikejo, rkqo nwhajpen. [As a matter of fact, yes. I am Najwenza. And a person asked me to kill you. Or at least slow you down.]" Najwenza said as she was now a few feet away from Apkeha.

She then saw Sylva, and then me. Or, more accurately, my facial expression.

"Mq'wrkjojkqo hw? Lnejyaooa Sylva Mikos. Ap qja fkhea faqja baiia wray qj ejopejyp za hkql. [What do we have here? Princess Sylva Mikos. And a pretty, young woman with the instinct of a wolf.]" Najwenza said as she began to move towards me and Sylva, who took my hand.

I took a step back as she took one more step towards me and Sylva. I could feel the wolf's instinct I got from continuously shifting into a wolf submit to Najwenza, almost as if she was an alpha. Sylva squeezed my hand, making me feel better. I began shifting partially, gaining the fangs, the ears and the tail of a wolf.

"Pq ao qja Atehaa, Najwenza. Hweooajkqo lwooan. [You are an Outcast, Najwenza. Let us pass.]" Apkeha pleaded.

"Jkj. Get 'em, boys. Iweo hweooavike Sylva ap hw behhahkql. [No. Get 'em, boys. But leave me Sylva and the wolf-girl.]" Najwenza said with a sadistic smile on her face as she came closer to me, entering my reach.

The wolves jumped down in the chasm. I quickly let go of Sylva's hand, who also let go of mine, and I revealed my ears to Najwenza. She was shocked, and I took the opportunity to attack her. However, she passed her shock quickly and dodged my attack. I was now separated from the group, wolves blocking my way to them. I knew the rest of the pack also shifted something that could be useful in a fight, like claws or fangs. Najwenza then spoke to me.

"Fa p'wrweo okqoaopeiaa, behhahkql. Ap fa j'wrweo lwo naiwnmqa pao pnwepo za hkql. Pq banweo qj xkj wfkqp w iw iaqpa. [I underestimated you, wolf-girl. And I did not see your wolf traits. You would be a good addition to my pack.]" Najwenza said before she threw herself at me.

She caught me and we fell to the ground. She was trying to knock me out while I tried to bite her. After a few minutes, I heard a wolf whine. Me and Najwenza looked at her wolves, and we saw that one had an arrow in his back. That one was obviously dead. Then, another arrow was shot, and it hit another wolf in the head, killing it instantly. We all looked up to where the arrows came from, and I saw someone leaning over the side of the chasm.

"Jalor!" Apkeha exclaimed.

Then, another wolf whined, but that one had not been hit by an arrow. Instead, a short woman in a leather armor had stabbed the wolf at the base of the neck, cutting the spine.

"Kalia?!" Apkeha said, dumbfounded.

Kalia and Jalor killed every wolf in a matter of seconds. Then, Shining brought his sword to Najwenza's neck. Jalor hopped down from his spot, sliding down the chasm's wall.

"Don't. She's not worth it." Jalor said, almost no accent in his voice.

Shining put his sword back in its sheath, and Najwenza ran away.

"What are the two of you doing here?" Apkeha asked.

"We are Outcasts, Apkeha. Athalon stripped us from our military title and exiled us from Corantha." Kalia said, almost no accent in her voice as well, although her speech pattern was more traditional.

"Why would he do that?" Apkeha asked, visibly shocked.

"Go tell him that. After Delkor's death, he was already a wreck, but ever since his father died and he became King, he seems more troubled than anything. And that goddess, Iwhaxa, didn't help, either." Jalor explained as he went to Kalia's side.

"Iwhaxa? Are you sure, Jalor?" Apkeha insisted.

Jalor nodded, his expression dark. Kalia, during that small time, was looking intently at Sylva.

"Is that Athalon's daughter?" Kalia asked.

Sylva nodded as she removed the hood hiding her face. I got up, shifting back to normal.

"Who's Iwhaxa?" I asked.

"She pretends to be the goddess of protection, but she truly is the goddess of evil. And you are?" Jalor said.

I smiled.

"I'm Jennifer Stone, and you could say that Sylva and I are a couple." I said.

Jalor was glaring at me while Sylva and Apkeha both giggled at my boldness.

"She must not have impure relations! She's our princess and future Queen!" Jalor almost yelled.

Kalia looked at Jalor with an amused expression.

"Relax, Jalor. Jennifer seems like a correct person, and besides, Sylva is an Ayandeyeaj, and there are spells to allow her to have children. Plus, impure relations are not forbidden, simply discouraged." Kalia told him.

"Let's get going." Apkeha said as she began to go towards the cave, but she stopped. "Care to join us?"

With that, two more person joined our group. We spent three days underground before we finally reached the outside world, and the sun was setting.

"We will stop for the night." Apkeha said.

Once our camp was set, we were all sitting around a campfire. Jalor had proposed to tell stories, either typical horror stories told only around campfires or fairytales, or legends. Luna had told us about the fight between her and her sister before she was banished. It was Jalor's turn to tell something.

"The story I will tell you took me some time to translate into Pony tongue. It is a legend about a young boy who killed is entire village." Jalor explained.

"Not again?" Kalia said, exasperated.

Jalor glared at her for a second before he spoke again.

"Do you want me to tell it in Coranthan or in Pony?" Jalor asked with a big smile.

"Coranthan." Sylva answered.

"Pnao xeaj. He apwep qja bkeo, zwjo qj lapep rehhwca, rerwep qj faqja cwjykj. Ya cwjykj apwep... Apnwjca. Qj fkqn, whkno mqa ha cwjykj wrwep ajrenkj zet wjo, hao dwxepwjpo zq rehhwca ykiiajyanajp w zeolwnwepna. Wq xkqp z'qj ikiajp, hao lwnajpo zq cwjykj naiwnmqanajp mqa haqn beho wceoowep xevvwnaiajp. Lwnbkeo, ha cwjykj narajwep ydav hqe ykqranp za owjc.

[Alright. Once upon a time, in a small village, lived a young boy. That boy was... Strange. One day when the boy was about ten years old, the inhabitants of the village began to disappear. After a some time, the parents of the boy noticed that their son was acting weird. Sometimes, the boy would come back home covered in blood.]

Qja fkqn, hao lwnajpo zq cwjykj ha oqeranajp cqomqa zwjo hw sylva. Pkqpabkeo, qja bkeo zwjo hw sylva, ha cwjykj wrwep zeolwnq ap j'apwep pnkqrwxha jqhha lwnp. Hao lwnajpo ydanydanajp lwnpkqp, owjo oqyyao. Arajpqahhaiajp, hao lwnajpo wxwjzkjanajp haqno naydanydao.

[One day, the parents of the boy followed him into the forest. However, once they were in the forest, the boy had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. The parents searched everywhere, to no avail. Eventually, the parents stopped their search.]

Whkno mq'eho napkqnjweajp ydav aqt, mqahmqa ydkoa xkqcaw zwjo hao xqeookjo, ap ha lana whhw rken za mqke eh o'wceoowep. Wqooepkp mqa ha lana ajpnw zwjo hao xqeookjo, eh oa bep penan zwjo hao xqeookjo, lkqoowjp qj yne za iknp. Hw iana oqerep okj iwne ap ha pnkqrw ailwha oqn qja xnwjyda ywooaa, qja yknza wppwydaa w hw ydarehha.

[While they were going back home, something moved in the bushes. The father went to see what it was. As the father stepped in the bushes, he was dragged in them. The mother followed her husband and found him impaled on a broken branch, a rope tied to his ankle.]

Hw iana ynew. Ahha oa napkqnjw ap pkixw bwyawbwya wray okj beho mqe pajwep qj ykqpawq. Eh hw pknpqna lajzwjp hkjcpailo wrwjp za hw pqan, ywn hw lanokjja mqa ha cwjykj zapaopwep ha lhqo, y'apwep ow iana. Yanpwejo zeoajp mqa ha cwjykj aop pkqfkqno aj rea, ap mq'eh dwjpa pkqpao hao sylvao, wppajzwjp qja jkqrahha reypeia lkqn oao leacao ahwxknao.

[The mother yelled. She turned around and came face-to-face with her son who was holding a knife. He tortured her for a long time before killing her, as the person the boy hated the most was his mother. Some say that he is still alive, and that he haunts all the forests, waiting for a new victim for his elaborate traps.]"

Once he was done, the atmosphere had changed. Luna and Shining Armor were visibly tense, Twilight was looking left and right, Nathan, Jacob and Franklin were surrounding Lucy who was sobbing lightly, Sylva was holding my hand tightly and had closed her eyes, and I was ready to jump and attack anything that made a sound. Apkeha, Kalia and Jalor were the only there that were not affected by the legend.

"Seriously? The legend of the trapper?" Apkeha asked.

"Yes. He has had that strange fixation on that legend for some time now." Kalia explained.

"Come on. It's just a story." Jalor said.

Something then moved in the bushes nearby. I turned my head in that direction, and I sniffed the air. Nathan saw me and looked at the bushes himself. He gestured to the bushes and I nodded. He got up and slowly went to the bushes. When he was halfway between the campfire and the bushes, he stopped.

"There's a trap in there." Nathan said.

"Stop freaking out." Jalor said. "Let's go to sleep. I think we all need it."

We all went to our sleeping places, and I slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

_"Where am I?" I asked out loud._

_I was in the night sky, as in 'I was standing on nothing with stars all around me and the moon behind me.'_

_"Jennifer."_

_I turned around, recognizing the voice._

_"MOM!" I yelled as I jumped to her, only to pass right through her._

_"I am not really here, Jenny." My mom said._

_She had great, beautiful snowy white feathered wings, and they were fully unfolded._

_"Your path will be hard, and you will face many challenges." She said as she walked around, her white dress brushing the invisible ground._

_"And?" I asked, unsure._

_My mom stopped walking around me. She then looked at me in the eyes._

_"You will be tested, Jenny. Your powers will be revealed to the others, and so will Sylva's." She said._

_"How do you know her?" I asked._

_"That is not important. In due time, you will be challenged. I am sorry, sweetie, but I am running out of time. I will see you soon..." She said as she slowly disintegrated into oblivion._

_I stood there, staring into the distance, until I began to disintegrate as well._

* * *

I woke up covered in sweat. The sun was beginning to rise. I got up and packed my things.

"Up early?"

I stopped packing and I looked around to see Kalia walking towards me.

"Yeah... I always wake up with the sun." I said.

"I need to talk to you in private." Kalia said.

I nodded and she walked away from the camp. I followed her, and once I had reached her, she spoke to me.

"Listen, Jennifer. My sister is the high priestess of Coratas, and she asked me to tell you something."

I looked at Kalia, completely lost. She let out a nervous chuckle.

"She might be my younger sister, but she is much more powerful than any Ayandeyeaj that ever lived. She came to me in a dream last night."

"Ah." I said as I finally understood.

"Anyway. You are special, Jennifer. Soon, my sister will visit you, and not in a dream. As I speak to you, she is leaving Coratas to come to us only so she can meet you. That is a great honour."

"Yeah... I suppose."

"Let us go back to the camp."

"Alright."

As we went back to the camp, I couldn't shake the feeling that my mom's death had something to do with all of this.

"Hey, Jenny!" Nathan called.

I went to him.

"Whaddaya want?" I asked.

"I checked with Twilight, Luna, Shining and Apkeha, and they all agree that we need someone to sniff out traps."

"And?" I asked, not understanding Nathan.

"You're gonna have to, um... Get out of your dress and, well... Shift into a wolf."

I nodded.

"Okay. Just a minute, though." I told Nathan as I moved towards where Sylva slept. "Sylva, fa zkep... Pa... lwnhan? [Sylva, I need to... Talk... To you?]"

Sylva walked to me, chuckling.

"Pq ao wzknwxha mqwjz pq ydanyda pao ikpo. Mq'u wpeh? [You are adorable when you struggle to say the right words. What is it?]" She said.

"F'weianweo mqa pq p'kyyqla za ikj owy w zko, wejoe mqa za iw nkxa. [I would love that you'd take care of my backpack, and of my dress as well.]"

"Yanpwejaiajp. Pq rwo odebpan aj hkql? [Sure. You will shift into a wolf?]"

I nodded, and Sylva smiled. I smiled back, then I dropped put my backpack on the ground with my cloak. I walked some distance away from the camp, then I took my dress off. Wasting no time, I immediately shifted into a wolf. I grabbed my dress as carefully as I could in my maw, then I went back where I left my backpack. I put my dress on top of my cloak, then I trotted to where Nathan still was. Luna, Apkeha and Shining Armor had joined him, and they were all looking in the distance.

"Any idea what still lies ahead of us?" Luna asked.

"I have no idea, Princess. But I hope it won't be too dangerous." Shining answered.

"Whatever's up ahead, we'll go right through it." Nathan added.

"Let us pray for the best, then." Apkeha concluded.

"As long as we're all together, nothing can beat us. Nothing." I cheered.

"I know you won't let me down, mom. You promised me that you'll always look out for me." I added for myself.

...

_3rd person POV, present day._

...

Walking down a cobblestone road, a beautiful woman with beautiful, great snowy white feathered wings looked around for a specific building. The building the barefoot woman was looking for was hard to miss as it was a monumental cathedral with great, colourful window panes depicting the entire pantheon of Coranthian gods. Coratas, Leanna his wife, Athas, Okhaeh, Hqra were all there and they were accompanied by the lesser gods, who consisted of Zeoyknza, trickster god of Chaos and alcohol, Vaxylios, god of Harmony and justice, Vusei, trickster god of parties, and Owrken, goddess of Knowledge.

As the woman entered the cathedral, several monks looked at her and stepped back, hiding from her. As she came closer to the altar, a priest stepped in the woman's way.

"The high priestess is gone on a divine mission. How can I help you?" The priest asked in Coranthan.

"I am looking for the orphanage. Could you lead me there?" The woman answered back in an angelic voice.

"Sure. Follow me."

The priest then began to lead the woman to the 'orphanage'.

"If you are looking to adopt, you will need to prove your are a worthy mother." The priest said.

"Obviously. But I am not looking to adopt a child. And I demand that you show your true self." The woman told the priest, who stopped and turned around.

"You are clever, my dear twin sister. We shall meet again soon."

With that, the priest vanished, leaving a few jet black feathers behind. Then, the real priest came.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Lead me to the orphanage, please."

The priest bowed to show he would, and he led the woman to the orphanage. In one of the room was a young girl around the age of three years old. She seemed like a normal girl, except she was a powerful Ayandeyeaj. The white winged-woman then appeared in the little girl's room, startling her. She hid under her bed.

"Sshhh. I am not here to hurt you. You are a special girl. You have a gift. The gift of love." The woman said as she lowered herself to be at the same level as the girl.

She then slid her fingers around the child's face, causing a pure white light to emanate from the girl's face. The woman then got up.

"You will be adopted soon. I promise. When the time will come, I will take you to your new father." The woman said before vanishing, leaving a few snowy white feathers behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

Wolaypo iqhpelha ap lkqrken ranepwxha [Multiple Aspects and True Power]

...

I was walking ahead of the others, stopping occasionally to sniff the air. Since we left our camp, we didn't cross a single trap.

Five days after we left our camp, we still hadn't encounter any trap. Everyone was beginning to be tense, as the road had been far too easy.

"Why can't I shake the freaking feeling something's wrong?!" Nathan almost yelled.

"I agree with Nathan, something is definitely wrong." Shining added.

Suddenly, instead of the open field we were walking on for the last five days, we were in a forest. Shining and Apkeha drew their swords, Jalor prepared his bow and Kalia drew one of her daggers. Then, a soft feminine voice called.

"W h'weza. [Help.]"

The voice sounded afraid. I ran towards the voice, eventually reaching a girl cowering in fear. I went to her and nuzzled her back to comfort her.

She had long, black hair with a silver stripe in it. Her skin was slightly tanned. She was wearing a brown dress and was barefoot. The others soon joined us.

"Mqah aop pkj jki, faqja behha? [What is your name, young girl?]" Luna asked.

"Wehha. O'ehrkqolhwep, wezavike. [Wehha. Please, help me.]" The girl apparently named Wehha said, fear still present in her voice. "Lnkpacaike zq cwjykj. [Protect me from the boy.]"

"Mqah cwjykj? [What boy?]" Apkeha asked the girl.

Suddenly, the girl no longer showed signs of fear. She looked at all of us, her pale green eyes filled with madness.

"Ike. [Me.]" The girl said before turning into a boy.

The boy had the same hair colour, eye colour and skin colour as the girl. The only differences were that the boy had short hair and was wearing a white linen shirt with brown three-quarter pants.

"Ikj jki aop Iaz. [My name is Iaz.]" The boy said before touching my muzzle.

As soon as his hand touched me, I felt a strange sensation, like I was being torn apart in two. Suddenly, the sensation subsided, and the boy turned back into a girl.

"We need to help this girl!" Shining said as he took the girl's unconscious body in his arms, causing a golden medallion to hang from her neck.

"Iaz ap Wehha... Iaz ap Wehha... Jkj! Wnnapav! [Iaz and Wehha... Iaz and Wehha... No! Stop!]" Sylva yelled.

"Mq'u wpeh, Sylva? [What is it, Sylva?]" Apkeha asked.

"Hao zaqt wolaypo. Ha iazwehhkj... Hw hacajza... [The two aspects. The medallion... The legend...]" Sylva answered.

Then, a wave of energy emanated from the medallion around Wehha's neck. Once the wave was gone, we were back in the open field, but in front of us was... Us, but darker, as if shade was made to prevent light to reach them, and the girl's 'reflection' was the boy that touched my muzzle.

"What is this?!" Jacob asked, almost yelling.

"I dunno!" Nathan answered.

"Why do you even give a crap?" The other Nathan said. "You'll all die!"

Dark Nathan then jumped in the air, a sword appearing from thin air in his hands. I looked at my darker self, and she was growling at me. I looked at Wehha, and I saw that she was awake. Her hands were grasping the medallion so hard that her knuckles were white.

Dark Shining then moved in to attack Shining Armor. He put Wehha on the ground to take his sword, blocking Dark Shining's attack in the nick of time. I quickly went to Wehha, and while I did that, all of our dark selves attacked their brighter counterpart. As I reached Wehha, she had let go of the medallion, giving me a good look at both of its faces as it was spinning.

It was a medallion made of gold. On one side was a depiction of a moon crescent and on the other side was a depiction of the sun.

"Zaqt wolaypo z'qj iaia lkqrken. Ha okhaeh ap hw hqra. Ha xeaj ap ha iwh. [Two aspects of a single power. The sun and the moon. Good and evil.]" Wehha said.

Then, out of nowhere, a boy jumped in front of me. He had short chestnut hair, and his skin was pale. On his right forearm was what looked like a black tattoo of vines covered with thorns. He was wearing clothing from Corantha and Earth. He wore a dark orange linen shirt, a dark blue torn denim jeans with black boots. He then turned his head towards me, and I saw his eyes. They were blue, but the blue seemed to vary constantly from steel blue to a vivid blue.

"I thought you needed help." He said in a cocky tone before looking back at our darker selves. "Eh aop pailo mqa mqahmq'qj naypebea ha pknp z'qja zaaooa wixepeaqoa. [It is time that someone rectified the wrong of an ambitious goddess.]"

The boy then placed his right hand on the ground. With his left foot, he gave himself a push, causing his body to rotate around his hand. While he rotated around his hand, he kicked Iaz on the medallion, causing all of our dark copies to vanish. Wehha also vanished, and Iaz turned back into Wehha.

"Ianye, Iaoowcan. [Thank you, Messenger.]" Wehha said before vanishing into thin air.

"Keep an eye out. I don't want to always come and save the asses of Lnkpaypekj's chosen. By the way, I'm Owcan, Messenger of the gods." The boy said before jumping in the air and disappearing.

"That was strange." Nathan said as we all gathered together. "Hey... Weren't we on an open field with no forest in sight?"

"Yes. Why?" Twilight said.

"'Cause that makes no sense." Nathan said as he pointed ahead of us.

In that direction was a forest. It was not very dense, but it was still dense enough to be called a forest. Apkeha, Jalor and Kalia let out a gasp.

"Eilkooexha. [Impossible.]" Apkeha muttered.

"What's going on?!" I asked.

"We are almost within Corantha's border." Jalor explained.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" Franklin said before running away in the forest.

"Weeeee!" Lucy said before following her brother.

Jacob then went after his siblings. Apkeha, Jalor and Kalia had an horrified expression, and they seemed to be frozen.

"Awright! Let's go!" Nathan said before going into the forest.

Twilight, Luna and Shining Armor looked at each other, and on a nod, they all went into the forest.

"Saktel! [Bastard!]" Kalia yelled.

"They can't know about the danger of this forest, okay? I'll go get 'em." Jalor said before making his way towards the forest,but he was stopped by Apkeha.

"We are all going."

With that, Jalor, Kalia, Sylva, Apkeha and I went after the others in the forest, but as soon as we entered the forest, Sylva vanished. We walked for about ten minutes before we heard a scream coming from straight ahead. It sounded like...

"SYLVA! I'M COMING!" I said before I ran towards the scream.

"Jennifer, stop!" Apkeha said to no avail.

In a matter of minutes, I reached a black stone building. It was falling apart. I went in, sure that Sylva and the others were there. But as soon as I stepped in, the door closed behind me, and a cage fell from the ceiling, covering me. I then black out.

When I came back to myself, I was in a cage hanging high, and I was naked. 'I must have turned back into a human... But I still have a tail... Funny.' I thought. I looked through the bars of the cage down towards the floor.

Strapped to a Frankenstein-style table was the unconscious form of Sylva. Some distance away from her and the man verifying the straps were the unconscious forms of the others. I let out a primal scream, and I lost awareness of everything around me, no longer in control of myself.

...

_3rd person POV, present day._

...

Jenny's primal scream made Nathan stir. He looked up, a small smile crossing his features.

"Atta girl." He said faintly before his head fell back down on the ground.

The man stopped checking the straps and looked up as well.

"Kj zenwep xeaj mq'ahha o'aop naraehhaa. [Looks like she woke up.]" The man said.

He then walked to a nearby wall and lowered a lever, causing Jenny's cage to lower to the ground. Jenny's body seemed to be on fire, but the flames seemed white, not red and orange.

"Pq ao pnao lqeoowjpa. [You are really powerful.]" The man said.

He then took a key and a odd-looking gauntlet. He put the gauntlet on his right hand, and it seemed to catch on fire. He unlocked the cage, letting Jenny out. She slowly walked out, her teeth clenched together.

"Rkukjo za mqke pq ao ywlwxha. [Let's see what you are able of.]" The man said.

He then pointed the palm of his right hand at Jenny, and a sphere of blue light shot out of it, hitting Jenny where her heart was. She was projected a few feet back. She fell on her back, but she got up. She growled, then she ran at the man, both of her hands clenched in fists.

Jenny punched the man on the jaw with her right fist. He spat some blood on the ground before shooting another sphere at Jenny. She dodged it, and punched the man in the gut with her left fist. He shot yet again. Jenny dodged again, putting both of her hands on the ground.

She pushed herself with her right foot, causing herself to spin. She stretched her left foot out and kicked the man on the jaw again. The man was projected a few feet away, but he quickly got up, spitting some more blood and one or two teeth.

"Grekal. Fa rweo pa bwena nacnappan pw jweoowjya! [Bitch. I will make you regret your birth!]" The man said.

As Jenny ran towards the man again,he charged power in the gauntlet. He then pointed at Jenny and shot a huge sphere of energy. It hit, sending Jenny straight into the wall and knocking her out. Sylva, who had regained consciousness, saw that and screamed.

"JENNY!"

Slowly, Sylva's body was covered with black flames. The straps caught on fire, and were reduced to ashes in one second. She dropped to her feet, leaving footprints of black fire behind her. She reached the man, and she extended her right arm out, her hand in a fist.

The man let out a chuckle. he then raised his hand, and shot a sphere at Sylva. Sylva caught the sphere and dismissed it. She then opened her hand, showing a black flame dancing in her open palm. With a single motion,she sent the flame at the man. He dodged, and began to shoot at Sylva continuously.

Sylva moved her hand quickly, causing each sphere to exploded before it touched her. When the man stopped shooting, Sylva let out a scream and sent a black fireball at the man, but a sword intercepted it. The sword was wielded by a woman wearing the robes of a high priestess.

She had long, black braided hair. Her eyes were big and the colour of gold. She put two fingers on Sylva's forehead, and she fell to the ground asleep. The high priestess then turned around to face the man. In the hand in which she held her sword, she also held a prayer necklace. She placed the hilt of the sword in front of her eyes, putting the necklace in front of her face. She closed her eyes and she began to chant.

"Lnkpaypekj, zkjjaike ha lkqrken za lnkpacan hao ejjkyajpo. Cwjjeo ya zaikj ap lqnebeo ya heaq. Wiaj. [Lnkpaypekj, give me the power to protect the innocents. Ban this demon and purify this place. Amen.]"

The man then vanished. The woman sheathed her sword, and touched everyone's forehead with the same two fingers she touched Sylva with. Then, the doors of the building were blown open on Jalor, Kalia and Apkeha. Kalia recognized the woman and ran to her.

"Okaqni! Fa oqeo za pa rken! [Little sister! I am glad to see you!]" Kalia said as she hugged the high priestess.

"Kalia. Pq i'wo iwjmqa. [Kalia. I missed you.]" The high priestess said as she hugged Kalia back.

"Dwqpa lnapnaooa Karuna. [High Priestess Karuna.]" Apkeha said as she bowed slightly.

Karuna nodded at Apkeha, and she stopped bowing. Then, Nathan, Luna, Twilight, Shining Armor and Franklin woke up.

"You need to hurry and get them outside. I do not know how long the purification will last." Karuna said as she went to Jenny's body. She took her and put her on her shoulder.

* * *

_Jennifer's POV, present day._

...

"She's coming back." I heard Nathan say.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them because of the sun. Being more careful, I opened them. I saw that I was in a forest in front of the black stone building. And I was wearing my dress.

"Thank you, Nathan. You can leave us now." A woman with weird clothes said.

I sat down.

"Who are you." I asked.

"I am High Priestess Karuna Nakonar. I am Kalia's younger sister."

I nodded.

"I witnessed your battle with Olen the mad genius. I must say that I am impressed by your powers. Lnkpaypekj told me that you were not able to use your powers, but she must certainly be mistaken."

"I... I didn't." I said.

"I am not sure I understand."

"I didn't use any power. In fact, I don't even remember fighting anyone."

"I see. That would explain the seal I saw on your body. It is located on your belly."

"I don't have anything there."

"The seal is invisible. Made of pure energy. It is supposed to block and control your powers. Let me help you break it."

Karuna then applied two fingers on my belly, and a fiery pain shot through my entire body, causing me to let out a scream of pain. I black out and entered a weird dream.

* * *

_I was in a playground. Kids were playing and running around, except for a few who were surrounding a young girl. She was identical in appearance to my mother when she was seven. However, that girl had jet black feathered wings._

_"Hey, Freak Girl! Aren't ya gonna cry in your momma's arms?" A young boy said, causing the kids around the girl to laugh._

_"Leave me alone." The little girl said quietly and weakly, tears streaming down her cheeks._

_"Hey, monster. The circus left town yesterday, so why didn't ya go with it?" A young girl said, causing the kids to laugh even more._

_"Leave my sister alone!" A girl from outside the circle of kids called._

_The kids all looked at the newcomer. She was also identical to my mother at seven._

_"Natalie!" The winged girl called, clearly happy._

_A tear rolled down my cheeks. I was watching my mother when she was seven. She was dressed tomboyish-ly, wearing a denim jacket with torn-away sleeves over a red t-shirt with torn denim jeans, white sneakers and black finger-less gloves. Her hands were clenched in fists._

_The boy who said 'Freak Girl' walked to my mother, his fists ready to punch. However, my mother was faster than him, and he was on the ground in three seconds, my mother having punched him on the left cheek. The boy's friends began to swarm my mother, but one after the other, they were sent to the ground with a single punch from my mother._

_Once all the bullies, girls included, had been punched to the ground, my mother went to the winged girl and offered her hand to the winged girl. The winged girl took it, and my mother helped the winged girl to her feet._

_"Thank you, Natalie. But you know what Dad will say if he learns you fought again." The winged girl said._

_"I know, Natalia. But I just couldn't do nothing for my sis, right?" My mother said._

_Natalia then hugged my mother. Suddenly, Natalia was covered with black flames and my mother was covered with white flames, and she had snowy white feathered wings._

* * *

I woke up trying to catch my breath.

"Are you okay?" Karuna asked.

"Yeah... But I think I saw the past... My mom was fighting bullies that were bullying her twin sister... And they both had wings. My mom's were snowy white and her sister's were jet black." I answered.

"I didn't want you to see that..." My mother's voice said from nowhere in particular.

"Her vision means that the seal has indeed been broken, but not by me." Karuna said to the air.

"This is bad. Karuna, accompany her and her friends to Coratas." My mom said to Karuna.

"Wait a sec! What's going on?" I asked.

"My sister, known here as Iwhaxa, is trying to corrupt you, Jennifer. The seal that kept your powers hidden away was broken by your anger, causing you powers to take control of you. Here I am known as Lnkpaypekj, guardian goddess of Love and Protection. Natalie is my Earth name, and my sister abandoned hers long ago."

"It is a bad thing that Iwhaxa was able to gain so much power, and you and Sylva are the key to putting an end to her quest for power. I shall protect her with my life, Lnkpaypekj." Karuna said as she bowed.

"Thank you. I will see you soon, sweetie..." My mom said.

Sylva then came running to me. She fell to her knees and she hugged me, preventing me from breathing.

"Sylva... Can't... Breath..." I struggled to say.

She loosened her hug while Karuna chuckled. I chuckled nervously, feeling embarrassed.

"I'm okay, Sylva." I said, but Sylva kept hugging me.

"Let me go!" I said, trying to free myself from the hug, only to hear more chuckling from the bushes.

All of the group walked out of the bushes, most of them chuckling stealthily, but some, mainly Nathan, were laughing out loud.

"Ha. Ha. Real funny." I said, only causing every one, including Karuna and Sylva, to burst out laughing.

I let out a sigh and let it pass on its own.

* * *

_3rd person POV, present day._

...

In Coratas' cathedral, in the orphanage, Iwhaxa, her wings white to hide her true identity, was overseeing a little girl's preparations to be adopted. The little girl was extremely happy, but Iwhaxa didn't care. She had a plan, and despite the failure of Najwenza, Iaz and Olen, she still had Zak and Selenia as backup. She knew they would not fail so easily, and the little girl in front of her was only a pawn to get her niece to join her.

"Eh aop pailo. Reajo. [It is time. Come.]" Iwhaxa said to the little girl, offering her hand.

The little girl gladly took the hand, and they both vanished, a few jet black feathers where they used to stand..


End file.
